Rating: 
Summary: Keep On Trekkin'
Review: "Welcome aboard." - Admiral James T. Kirk welcomes an old, pointed eared, friend aboard The Enterprise in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"The first of ten films in the "Trek" saga gets off to a whimper instead of a bang. An alien known as V'ger with immense energy and power is on a course for Earth, destroying and absorbing anything in its path. The only Federation ship in the vicinity is, of course, the U.S.S. Enterprise. Kirk and crew are sent to destroy the being before it reaches Earth. But, when Kirk & co. find out that V'ger is more of a sentient being with human origins than alien, the crew tries to find out what V'ger wants and why, before time runs out & Earth becomes part of V'ger. Overall the film is o.k. Most fans were excited to see Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the crew with The Enterprise up on the big screen for the first time in film history, no matter what they did (personally, I never saw the film when it was in theaters). With the cult status that the T.V. show gathered in reruns over the years since its cancellation, it was inevitable that "Star Trek" would be revived again in some form another. Originally, Paramount saw "Star Trek" as a way to start its own television network that could rival NBC, ABC, & CBS, with the new incarnation of "Trek" being its headlining show. But, with the monsterous success of "Star Wars", studios were scrambling for any script they had with a sci-fi element. 20th Century Fox immediatelly greenlighted "Alien" with Paramount taking "Star Trek" & turning into a big screen feature instead of a headlining television show. "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was released for the Xmas season of 1979 with mixed reviews. The film isn't really that bad. It falls along one of the more medium, likable episodes from the series (say not as bad as the episode "Catspaw" but no where near as good as "Space Seed"). Its great to the see cast on the big screen, but, the problem is they've aged since the series, but, don't seem to act it. In other words there is no backstory to what has happened to the crew since the end of there original five year mission ("Star Trek II" handles this perfectly). The disco style uniforms with the Dick Tracy style communicators don't help either. The new 2 disc DVD edition is definitely worth looking at, for all of the new CGI work done to the film (henceforth, my four star rating to an otherwise three star film). Also, included are all of the deleted scenes that have info containing whether or not the scene was included in the original ABC broadcast, or if it was on the extended VHS edition, or if it was just plain deleted from the film itself. The trailers are a blast from the past with, known other than, Orson Welles giving the narrative to all trailers and t.v. ads. The featurettes on the making of the film and the restoration are great. If you've seen all of the other "Trek" films (and stomached "Star Trek V") then "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" is worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!
Review: I'm probably going to hack a few people off but...
I grew up with this movie; both the theatrical release and the "Special Edition" Laserdisc. (God, I'm old) This is ALMOST my favorite movie. Having watched this movie so much and having studied all the character development in it, some might say this makes me bias. If you don't mind having dialog removed; scenes switched around; and generally questionable editing for the sake of time and new special effects, then you'll love this version. I was VERY disappointed in the "Director's Edition". Don't get me wrong. The new special effects; WONDERFUL; like the new San Francisco scene. Cleaning up the visuals; EXCELLENT. I even overlooked what he was trying to do with the music. I am, however disappointed because the director took a perfectly fine movie, (the Original "Special Edition") and BUTCHERED it. Granted, it's his movie. He can do what he wants. I just wish he'd have asked folks like me before he took a blade to it. Scenes, which gave this film such character development, were cut out. Background noise showing what might be "real life" on a Starship, edited out. The noise level in the new version is almost like a morgue. The energy and tension you feel, while the crew is preparing the Enterprise against an impossible deadline, is non-existent. The computer translation, of the Klingon language transmission at Epsilon 9, was edited out. Little shots that gave this movie feeling were edited out. Such as, the shot of Uhura, staring in disbelief at the view screen, and Kirk having to REPEAT HIMSELF to turn the, "Viewer off!" to shake her from the horror she had just witnessed, was edited out. The snip of Kirk blowing off McCoy saying, "Get out of here, Bones" was edited out. Kirk was ignoring what he'd done to get this new position. He wanted to ignore what he should face. A scene showing the absolute power Ilea, as a Deltan, has over the human male, with Sulu stumbling all over himself, was cut out. A shot of Ilea, staring longingly toward the turbo-lift door, as Sulu is trying to get her attention, was cut out. This scene showed how she was dealing with seeing Decker again, without having to utter a word. GONE. While Kirk and Bones are talking to Spock in the lounge, the Director STUCK a CGI warp engine in the background. It looks amateur. The editing on the Enterprise fly-over was poor. The editing on the V-Ger fly-over was poor. I could go on. And with ALL the stuff done to this version and the big deal made over this thing, the director still, STILL didn't fix the arm bands on Spock's and McCoy's jackets, in the last scene on the bridge. Apparently during a break in shooting, Nimoy and Kelly got their jackets mixed up. I know a FEW people who like this, but not many. Thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: The Human Adventure is Just Beginning
Review: Let me say this... "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was what got me into Star Trek. It was the first Star Trek anything that I had ever sat down and watched. And I loved it, every minute of it. Now I have this DVD, I've watched it again, and it's elevated itself to it's position as my number one favorite movie of all time. This film has great special effects, it's true. In fact several of them are especially impressive, especially in this day and age where movies are over-run with fakish-looking CGI crap. However it's not a "Special Effects" fest as some have claimed. Indeed, there are long moments in the film that go without showing anything extraordinary, and there's just as much, if not more, time devoted to character development and fleshing out the plot as there is Special Effects. Speaking of which, I personally found little or nothing wrong with the interaction between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. After having seen the original series, I thought their interaction was pretty spot-on. After all, Spock and McCoy don't have to bicker in EVERY scene. Finally, there is the plot and it's progression, which is the perfect audio-visual experience. I wouldn't describe the scenes as being "Dragged-out" but in some cases, suspenseful. In others, relaxing. The long instances work perfectly to convey the emotions and general tone and feeling of each individual scene. Many say these scenes are too long, but those people are just impatient. The plot advances at a rather steady pace and rewards the patient. However, the winning grace of this film is it's themes and message. It has one quality that many films, including other Trek films, totally lack: It actually makes you think with it's messages about humanity and existence, and makes us realize that there's always going to be something out there we do not know or understand. Captain Kirk and co. live in a world which is virtually perfect in every way, where mankind seems to have pretty much reached it's peak, yet in this movie they find out there's still many things they haven't seen, heard, felt, been, and probably will never be able to experience, and that humanity and all living things have just scratched the surface of their full potential. The human adventure, quite literally, is just beginning. All in all, Star Trek: The Motion Picture is aimed at those with an open and thoughtful mind. There's other Trek films for those who prefer action, but because of their different direction (which is not necessarily worse), they can't be judged by the same standards. But if you want something that is both entertaining and thought-provoking, this DVD is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: A true Sci-Fi classic
Review: This is first in the Star Trek film series and it was long-awaited after the demise of the cult classic three-season TV show. During the mid-70's, Paramount Studios played with a number of ideas, conferred with some of science-fiction's best authors (Theodore Sturgeon, Harlan Ellison) and had the inkling of a new series that would spin off from the film, if successful. This makes watching the original Star Trek Motion Picture rather interesting in a historical light, as we are now past "Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager" and the (possibly soon to be ended) "Enterprise." What's fascinating is to watch the evolution of the new series, which have embryonic concepts in the motion picture. Alan Dean Foster wrote the script book, and explained about "Delta"--Lieutenant Ilia's home planet of sexually-sophisticated empaths. This was the kernel for the Betazoid Troi. Decker, First Office, becomes Riker in the Next Generation Series, the officer with the power to criticize and rein in the captain. Even in engineering, look next to Scotty, and you will see an African-American engineer, obviously an important officer in the department, and uncannily like Geordi LaForge. And more trivia: fan club presidents from the groups that really thrust Star Trek from three-season has-been to a cult following had walk-on roles in the film. The scene where Kirk briefs the entire crew in the ship's auditorium has hundreds of extras who were club members, given the chance to be in the film as a thanks for keeping the Trek dream alive. But other than scanning for the nucleus of the new series, is this classic worth watching? Well, sure. It's got lots of (for the time) good effects, a decent, if somewhat shopworn story about an alien probe, and our favorite crew of the Enterprise is still in their glory. Even Yeoman Rand gets a cameo, sans architectural 60's hair. The problems with the film are in pacing and what they decided to leave in and what was obviously cut out. The reason for Ilia's "vow of chastity" was not that bald women were considered the sexiest creatures in the universe in the 22nd century. The Deltans were empaths with sophisticated mental abilities that included enhancing sexual pleasure, hence, she was dangerous to sexually "immature" species like humans. This ended up on the cutting room floor or else had trouble finding its way into the script in the first 20 minutes to explain her allure. In many places, gazing dewy-eyed at the ship or the V'ger structure for mind-numbing minutes on end seems to replace plot, dialog and action. That's awful. Still, the model work is exceptionally good, and the music and sound effects are stunningly modern. Well, except for the costuming and hair. Hair is either lacquered to extinction (see the navigator) or it has a life of its own (Kirk's toupee and Uhuhu's afro, which grows by inches in a single scene.) Kirk's shirt looks like what my dentist wears--white nylon raglan, or the full uniform with the white panel down the front and the weird belt buckle slapped on (I'm thinking fast-food worker here. Just awful.) Though, these skin-tight jumpsuits do let you laugh at the corsets strapping in the middle-age spread on the crew members not lucky enough to stay as slim as Nimoy or Kelley. I also noticed a few changes from the original projected film and the cut on this DVD--the scene where Ilia emerges as a replicated probe from her shower is changed in a number of ways. The continuity here suffers. The good thing about DVD's is you can fast-forward past all the jaw-dropping, drooling on the ship as it moves all-too-slowly out of the dock scenes and get to the action (in essence, your own Director's Cut!) For sci-fi and a Star Trek film, this is pretty good, in fact, holds up well over time. Fun for a rainy Saturday night, with plenty of popcorn and fresh batteries in the remote.
Rating:
Summary: We've Witnessed A Birth!
Review: "Star Trek The Motion Picture" is always harshly criticised for being bland and lacking in action,but that's not what
Star Trek is all about.The first Star Trek movie is a STORY-
it's about an Earth space probe that merges with a machine
lifeform and itself comes to life.But still it wishes to return
to Earth to join with it's creator.Even if along the way 'V'Ger'
destroys a few spaceships and "absorbes" two Enterprise crew
members it's inttentions are good.Most of the movie revolves around the Enterprise's journey through the emmence V'ger vessel and the problems it encounters.So it's the only Trek
movie that's rated G-it comes off as more dialog then action
but for those with an open mind and an interest in great
stories this will be for you.
Rating:
Summary: Will put you to sleep if youre not a Star Trek fan
Review: I love Star Trek but this film along with Star Trek V was probably the worst in the series. The plot is so-so but the special effects were excellent considering it was made in 1979. But there just isnt enough action to make the film work. To much talking and too little action. Basically the crew sets out to stop an alien probe threatening Earth and the Federation. Havent we heard this sort of plot before? I'm sure they could've thought up a better storyline for the first-ever Star Trek motion picture. Despite its minor bugs this film would spawn nine more movie sequels and four more television series'. So I guess it did accomplish something after all.
Rating:
Summary: Where No One Should've Gone Before, But Did Anyway
Review: People tend to forget that this film was a HUGE hit when it came out. Probably because the budget was so high (it included the cost for the abandoned "ST-Phase II" series) the film basically broke even. The plot for Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a combo of "The Changeling" & "The Doomsday Machine". All of our favorite characters are back, but there is little of the banter and warmth from the original series present. Instead, we get a kind of "2001" atmosphere with overlong special effect scenes (particularly the overblown Enterprise in drydock & V'Ger cloud sequences) and underwelming acting. Shatner's plea to Bones that he needs him "BADLY!" is almost too funny for words. Most "Director's Cuts" are vanity pieces that may appeal to hardcore movie buffs, but really don't improve a film. But in this case, a "Director's Cut" was really needed. Star Trek: The Motion Picture suffered from an incomplete script and a truncated post production that prevented completion of several special effect sequences and even a preview which would've helped director Robert Wise to tighten and improve the film. Now, twenty years later he's been given the chance to do just that. The Director's Cut trims bits and pieces from several scenes to improve the pace. Fortunately, they did cut out Shatner's delivery of the line "Oh..My...God..." (from the transporter malfunction scene) which could be the worst in film history. However, you can see all the deleted scenes, as well as three short documentaries, and other tidbits. The commentaries are fairly bland, but informative. As for the film itself, standouts include Leonard Nimoy's return as Spock. In fact, this could be the best story about Spock ever filmed. I also enjoyed the opening attack by the Klingons and any scene with DeForest Kelly. The best part though is Jerry Goldsmith's incredible score, which somehow lost the Oscar to "A Little Romance". In fact, I would heartily recommend the soundtrack over the film. Still, the Director's Cut is an improvement and worth checking into if your a trekker who sorta liked the movie when it first came out.
Rating: 
Summary: we can blame the whole fall of the trek franchise here
Review: the original series was, at least for a season and a half, an original, unique piece of tv history.
the last half of the second and third season threatened to derail the accomplishmnets trek had made.
but, amazingly, when the features came out, they were even worse than the third season.
leave it to paramount to take something unique and drive it straight into the grave.
Rating:
Summary: Best
Review: This is the best "Director's Cut" DVD that I own. There's more crap on here than I know what to do with!!! Plus the movie's cut is extremely well done. The greatness that is Robert Wise.
Rating:
Summary: Wise "completes" his film 20 plus years later
Review: To be fair, this is not a horrible film. In fact, while the original theatrical edition did have it's flaws -it was cold, and emotionaless, this DVD "director's cut" helps establish why the film only worked part of the time. Robert Wise, with 20 plus years behind him, can now look back and see his film in a different light. But, no matter what tweaking you do, you still cannot change the story, which was bland and done before. The script is weak in many area's, but that weakness could've been overlooked had the producers tried to keep the chemistry between Shatner, Nimoy and Kelly going, just like the TV series. Trek has proven that when your charatcers are more 3-dimensional, the silly story works. In The Motion Picture though, the characters are treated like estranged relatives. Had they taken the essance of the roles, as was done in Trek II, and made them what they were -friends -this movie would've worked better. The new version is slightly better, as Wise has had a chance to "finish" his film. Caught between the success of Star Wars and Paramount's aborted 4th network attempt, The Motion Picture was fast tracked to get it ready for Christmas 1979. The thing was, the script was mess, the director had not worked on such a heavy effects ladden film before and the visual effects themselves were untested. Mix these altogether, and you got what you got. The new DVD offers us some "enhanced", CGI effects. Wise gives us a detailed reason in the commentary track, on how and why these effects were added. He also goes into great detail on the point of the story, which he admits was one of the films flaws. It's brave when a director can go back and see and tell where his film went off the tracks. The film is still a snoozer, but I've always had a soft spot for this film. I don't mind the endless scenes of V'jer and the great amounts of no dialogue that goes with those scenes. Wise has almost saved his own film. And for that, I recommend this film.
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